It is desired within the food preparation industry to hollow out generally hemispherically shaped food products such as loaves or buns of bread to create a bowl for food. Typically such hollowed out loaves are used as a bowl for foods such as chili or soup. Hollowed out food products have two distinct advantages over conventional bowls; they are edible and environmentally friendly. They can be eaten if desired or discarded. Being composed of organic matter, such bowls may be readily composted. If simply discarded, an organically based bowl rapidly decomposes and does not threaten the environment. Being a one use receptacle, such bowls require no cleaning after use and thus do not waste the energy, water and detergent required to clean conventional bowls. Although the invention is applicable to food products generally it will be discussed hereinafter with respect to bread like items such as a loaf of bread or bun.
Hollowing out a loaf to create a bowl has traditionally been done in a free hand manner by an individual using a knife or spoon to cut or scoop out a cavity in the bread. Such a procedure is prone to error in that a slip of the knife may cut the individual. In addition, free hand cutting can result in piercing of the exterior of the loaf when attempting to cut the cavity. A pierced loaf will leak when liquids are placed within the bowl. Further, the cavity of the bowl created by such free hand cutting will be inconsistent in dimension. The food preparation industry requires that a bowl hold a fixed and consistent volume to ensure customer satisfaction and profitability. Typically, a cavity in a bread bowl is cut out in a cylindrical shape. A cylinder is not easy to create within a loaf, particularly when attempting to detach the base of the cylinder from the loaf.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus to allow an individual in the food preparation industry to safely create a bowl from a loaf of bread that has a consistently sized cavity. The present invention meets this need.